Saga of The Wolves


Saga of the Wolves
Glyconutrients Explained: History & Uses
by Dr. Arthur Young

Presented as a scientific paper at the annual convention of the American
Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA), September 3, 2003.

I shall begin with a true story. I call it “The Saga of the Wolves”. It began in August of 2002 and ended in December. Please allow me to introduce to you Wascin (Washee), Lia Wi (Leelawee) and two beta females from New Mexico pack and Tatanks Maza (Dah DAHN ka Mah ZAH) alpha male of the Takini Pack from Spring Texas—the home of the North American Wolf Association Refuge.

A disaster had struck, and 17 wolves died of a particularly virulent strain of distemper virus showing its destructiveness in Texas, Florida, California and Kansas (The Takini pack had been vaccinated as pups). The virus etiology was confirmed at Texas A&M veterinary school as well as by Dr. Alson Sears from California, a noted expert in the field of canine distemper. In the final analysis, 7 of the 9 wolves who survived had never been vaccinated. All therapeutic efforts were failing, including an emergency approval by the USDA for administering a new, not yet sanctioned, immunomodulator flown in from Georgia; still nothing except death.

I was contacted at the end of September. Several of the nine wolves from the New Mexico pack and one of the three wolves in the Takini group remained. They exhibited posterior weakness and ataxia as well as visual and auditory deficiencies. One female, Wascin had been seizuring. I have experienced some remarkable results in managing neurological diseases with glyconutrients. Following a lengthy discussion with the association director, she opted for this approach instead of developing a homeopathic protocol known as Genus Epidemicus. We initiated a program with massive doses of glyconutrients twice daily as the sole diet plus a balanced vitamin and mineral supplement (Canine Plus® by Vetri Science Inc). Wascin had been exhibiting seizure activity eight to twenty times daily. That scenario improved dramatically within hours of receiving her first doses of glyconutrients amazingly enough has never seizured again. Another pack member, Lila Wi developed facial ticks and a very unsteady gait. She became asymptomatic after one month of supplementation.

A remarkable story... Why glyconutrients? Why not?! Today my mission is to enlighten all of us, since every time I speak I manage to enhance my appreciation for these unique essential sugars. What are they? What are their names? Who developed their use? How do they function as omnipresent guardians of the immune response mechanisms? What is the sound science supporting their bellowing demand to be known?

To begin this enlightenment, let us embark together upon a journey. As the old 1940s radio program once proclaimed “Return with us to the days of yesteryear and the hoof beats of the great horse ‘Silver’ --- The Lone Ranger rides again!” But on this day, that time is 300 B.C. Instead of the Lone Ranger, our hero is only 21 years old, and his name is Alexander the Great. It is two thousand, three hundred years ago. His victorious ships of the day cruised the Frankincense Trail from the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea to the eastern Mediterranean carrying huge cargos of the aloe plant, Aloe Socotrina is this plant. There exist a glyconutrient, a sugar, called mannose. Forward our time capsule to the 16th century and Paracelsus, the farther of pharmacology, who claimed the authorship of a ‘secret elixir’, which he stated would extend life to the fullest. The ingredients?—aloe vera and myhrr.

Onward to the 1950s, and enter our drama one Dr. Lishbach at Los Alamos Nuclear Labs in New Mexico. He discovered the healing properties of fresh aloe when applied to beta-radiation burns in rabbits.

Next we journey forward another two decades to the late 1970’s, when Dr. Bill McAnalley, using foreskin tissue culture, discovered that the macrophage have white blood cells mannose receptor sites and they search for mannose. Since the outer surface of viruses, bacteria, and molds also contain mannose, the macrophage senses their presence and attaches itself to the invader. As a result of this attachment, the macrophage can phagocytize invading the offending organisms. In addition, a cascade of immune system modulator substances; called cytokine, are released from the macrophage, which mobilizes in turn entire immune system. For example, tumor necrosis factor is activated to attack and destroy invading tumor cells. Interleukin-1, or IL-1, is also released to raise the body temperature to a level that is incompatible with the life of an invading bacteria or virus. These actions of the macrophages are driven by its mannose receptors.

So, forward our time machine to 1986, and once again, rising from obscurity, a new day dawns for this lost benefactor of body repair in the form of an aqueous, topical gel called Carrisyn®, an immune system modulator by CarringtonTM Laboratories. There soon followed an inject able mannose known to many equine practitioners as Acemannan®. This product was first used in poultry vaccine to counteract Marek’s Disease (characterized by B-cell lymphoma), which had severely hampered the poultry industry in Texas. Acemannan® injected into equine sarcoids exhibited impressive results. Not only did the sarcoid at the injection site shrink and disappear, but other sarcoids at non-injection sited disappeared as well.

Once again, let our time machine propel us forward 10 years. The researcher, Dr. McAnalley, who developed Acemannan®, now realized that certain nutritional essential sugars, aside from glucose and mannose, had profound effects on the immune hierarchy and the efficiency of cellular response. He subsequently unveiled an oral product, containing not only the acetylated mannan (Acemannan®) from aloe vera, but also 6 other essential sugars. To me, a new expanded world emerged in my quest to rectify (as Tom Brokaw would say) ‘the fleecing’ of America’s immune system by the wanton use steroids, antibiotics, and a crippled food chain. This formulation is composed of aloe vera gel extract, glucosamine, and various gums, which are long, folded chains of different sugars. The components are made biovailable by process of pre-digestion during manufacture. This formulation provides raw materials the body uses to produce the eight sugars it needs. The sugars include mannose, galactose, xylose, fucose, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylneuraminic acid (also known as sialic acid), and glucose. They are referred to as “glyconutritional sugars” or “glyconutrients”, because they are necessary sugar nutrients. Glyconutritionals are dietary supplements designed to make the necessary sugars available to cells quicker and in greater quantity. With more of the sugars available in dietary supplements, fewer metabolic steps are required, and body systems function at optimal capacity. Current nutrition textbooks stress the importance of essential vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats in great detail, and sugars have been recognized only as a source of energy, not as substances essential to the healthy functioning of the immune system. However, Dr. Robert Murray, M.D., Ph.D., professor emeritis, co-author of ‘Harper’s Biochemistry’ text book, and noted researcher in the field of glycobiology, and other prominent scientists, have described in great detail the importance of glycontritional sugars in the proper functioning of various body systems, including the immune system.

What has been learned is that these sugars are necessary components of the network called “cell communication”. Approximately 200 sugars are found in nature, but the eight glyconutritional sugars are used by mammals to make cellular words; the rest serve as precursors to those eight. We humans, as the sum total of all body parts, speak to one another using an alphabet, which is then arranged into individual words. When we communicate accurately and clearly, our wishes are addressed and carried out based on the fact that the party(s) being spoken to are paying attention. So it is with cells performing their mission or duties. When the body is ill, or, as Dr. Samual Hahnemann would have said in 1800, challenged by “morbid befallments”, the cellular alphabet loses its orderliness. No longer do cells and organs behave in an appropriate and efficient manner, and the more serious the disease process dueling with the vital energy the greater the disarray in messages sent ( or not), so that “A” could well come after “Z”, figuratively speaking.

In the 1960’s, research results first began to appear on the essential role of glyconutritional sugars in cell-to-cell communication. It was discovered that glycoproteins (i.e. Sugar-proteins ) and glycolipids ( i.e. Sugar-fats ), which contain glyconutrtional sugars as part of their molecular structure, coat the surface of every body cell. These glyconjugates, as they are collectively called, allow cells to recognize and share information with one another by binding to cell surface receptors that recognize a particular sugar component of the glycoconjugate. In other words, the sugars are like an alphabet that forms sugar molecule words that originate on the cell surface, and read by other cell receptors, and thus make up a biochemical language. When there is not enough of a particular sugar, the needed sugar molecule words are incomplete or missing, and cell-to-cell communication breaks down. Although the healthy body can metabolize glucose to form the other seven glyconutritional sugars, stress factors, such as disease, infection, environment, toxins, and a host of other daily physical and physiological insults, can cause the metabolic processes to malfunction. When this happens, if diets are not supplemented with these necessary glyconutritional sugars, healthy cell communication cannot occur and the patient will become very ill, or existing illness and suffering will worsen. In this regard, studies have shown that dietary supplementation with specific glyconutritional sugars is an effective treatment for metabolic disorders, where the specific sugar cannot be synthesized from glucose in adequate amounts. Additionally, in pharmacokinetic studies in humans, glyconutritional sugars, such as mannose, have been shown to be readily absorbed when given orally and are directly incorporated into glycoprotiens; this happens without mannose being metabolized to and results in a more rapid rise in glycoprotein levels than would occur if a mannose were synthesized from glucose. Thus, glyconutritionals provide a convenient source of glyconutritional sugars and their precursors to form the glycoproteins and glycolipids that are essential for cell-to-cell communication and healthy functioning in the immune system.

It is interesting that until now fields of glycol-(or sugar) biology and nutrition have never been adequately investigated together. This is true in spite of the importance of glycoproteins in cell-to-cell communication or the fact that diet is the major source of all sugars. However, research into the biochemical effects of the glyconutritional sugars and their glycoconjugates is now becoming a huge and exploding field world-wide. A quick search by year of the term ‘glycoprotein (s)’ in the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE database shows that scientific papers written in English on this cell growth. In animal studies, rats with chemically induced, transplantable mammary tumors, showed significantly suppressed tumor growth following fucose injections, and no toxic effects were found to be associated with fucose treatments. Inhibition of cancer growth by glyconutritional sugars, such as mannose, appears to be partially related to immune system activation of natural killer cells.

Glyconutritional sugars appear to inhibit tumor cell metastasis by preventing the attachment of tumor cells. Thus, as the sugar binding sites all become occupied, there are no places left for cancer cells to attach. In this regard, there have been successful clinical trials conducted in human cancer patients using infusions of galactose. Two controlled, randomized studies, one with 80 patients with stomach adenocarnimoa and another with 76 patients with colon adencarcinoma, demonstrated a significant reduction in hepatic metastases and improve overall survival galactose-treated patients.

Another important action of glyconutritional sugars is in modulating insulin metabolism. Malfunction of the attachment of glyconutritional sugars to insulin receptors on cells, results in disruption of insulin synthesis and processing. Certain glyconutritional sugars also help to prevent cataracts in diabetic animals. Dietary supplementation with mannose can preserve membrane metabolites, which protect the diabetic lens from developing cataracts. Dietary galactose also has been shown to inhibit cataract formation in animals. In addition, glyconutrients are important for the release and proper transport of hormones throughout the body. Serum proteins that bind to hormones, such as testosterone, are required to have certain glyconutritional sugars attached to proteins in order for them to function properly. Glyconutritional sugars are also required for normal function, binding and processing of growth hormone. In the case of gonadotrophin hormones, which control the release of many other hormones throughout the body, there is a direct relationship between the glyconutritional sugar center content of the gonadotrophin hormones and their biological activity. In this regard, mannose, fucose, and N-acetyglucosamine appear to be the most important.

An adequate supply of dietary glyconutritional sugars is also important during periods of body stress, since glyconutrients and glycolipids synthesized from these sugars play key roles in many aspects of tissue healing and repair as well as cell survival. An example is P-glycoprotein which functions as a membrane pump to remove environmental chemicals from cells before they have a chance to exert their toxic effects. P-glycoprotein requires several of the glyconutritional sugars as part of its structure to function properly. Another important stress glycoprotein, which contains glyconutritional sugars, is heat shock protein. This glyconutrient functions in the development of heat stress tolerance by contributing to the protection and damage repair of cells during and following heat stress. Yet another example is the stress glycoprotein called ‘stressin’. This serum glycoprotein is rich in the glyconutritional sugar sialic acid, which is important for proper nerve development and function. Stressin is elevated in response to psychological stress and is believed to play an important role in modulating the body’s psychological and physiological responses. During and after exercise induced stress glycoproteins play important roles in the transport, assembly, and survival of body cells. One final illustration of the role of glyconutrients in protecting against lung infections and injury following stress by inactivating inhaled bacteria and viruses trapped in airway mucus.

Obviously, based in the important biological effects of the glyconutritional sugars and the glycoproteins, which contain them, it should be surprising that there are significant veterinary conditions, amenable to the use of glyconutrients. Some of those we list, based on my own experience and that of reporting veterinary practitioners, include asthma, periodontal disease, diabetes, FIV, feline leukemia, fibro sarcoma, mast cell tumors, IBD, allergic dermatoses, osteoarthritis, cognitive dysfunction syndrome, and lupus. So, now that you understand glyconutrient functions, you can also pragthey can exert a significant effect on these conditions.

With regard to the veterinary applications listed, I must elaborate on the clinical condition of ‘cognitive dysfunction syndrome’ and related behavioral and mental health considerations in greater detail. Glyconutrients have a well documented track record in the area of their physiological contribution to neurological homeostasis. For example, sialic acid, a glyconutritional sugar, appears to be important for the health development of the central nervous system in animals. It also appears to enhance cognitive function in humans. Improvement is also observed in children with symptoms of ADD and ADHD that have received Ambrotose® as a dietary supplement. Although the mechanism for these observations has not yet been delineated, it is apparent that glyconutrient supplementation might well have a role in at least minimizing the pathetic systems of aging frequently seen in geriatric pets. An example of this is cognitive dysfunction syndrome, which often results in aging and loyal pet standing in the middle of a room staring into space totally out of touch with any existence that makes life worthwhile.

Another often overlooked mental health issue in pets is the unfortunate lack of emotional stability in many pet-owning households. Of course, we know that the vast majority of animal enthusiasts are totally unaware of the Bach flower essences, which can be a major player in reducing the traumatic stress that pets encounter day after unpredictable day in an unstable household. But, due to the neurological effects of certain glyconutrients, they might also be an effective addition to a therapy regimen for these animals, especially since some of the glyconutritional sugars are important precursors to the formation of "stress glycoproteins”, which are necessary for the body to deal with mental, physical and environmental stressors. Certainly, the accepted routine of supplementing animals’ diets with vitamins and minerals can easily be extended to the addition of glyconutrients as well. Clearly, we know that without emotional stability, physical health cannot be an attainable goal. This would also seem to be an excellent way of improving the mental health of our pet companions. In addition to the saga of the wolves, there are many more examples where glyconutrients have helped our patients. I would like to take just a few minutes to relate a few brief cases that have been submitted to me by other practitioners.

The first case is based on records from the Harrison Street Animal Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. The patient is “Pekoe”, 9 year old female cat diagnosed in April, 2000 with left maxillary fibrosarcoma. Following four de-bulking surgeries, the fibrosarcoma persisted to the point that the prognosis for this animal was extremely grave. After the last surgery, the patient received a raw food diet supplement with vitamins and Ambrotose®, given at a dose of 1?2 teaspoon (0.88 g) daily, which has continued to thepresent time. No regrowth of the sarcomatous lesion has been observed.

The second case involves a 9 year old male cocker spaniel named “Booker”. At age 6 years, he had an ongoing problem with dermatitis, otitis, and conjunctivitis. This is, of course, a very common scenario with cocker spaniels. The owner initiated a dosing supplement of 1?4 teaspoon (0.44 g) Ambrotose® daily. After three months, the skin, ear, and eye inflammatory were no longer observed, and there has been no relapse in the occurrence of these inflammatory lesions during the past three years. No other medicines have been used.

The third case is a 5-year old domestic short hair. A serious asthmatic condition had developed by the time the animal was 1 year old. Immuno-suppressive therapy with steroids was then initiated and continued for nearly two years without lasting success. In March, 2001, glyconutrients therapy was initiated, and was given daily at a dose of 1/8 teaspoon (0.22 g). By January, 2002 there was no reoccurrence of asthmatic symptoms. In March, 2002 there was one episode, which required oxygen at an emergency clinic. At this time, the dose was increased to 1?2 teaspoon (0.88 g) daily. To date, there has been no reoccurrence of symptoms at this higher dosage.

The fourth case involves a female Rottweiler six weeks of age. The animal presented with a urinary tract infection, and had responded temporarily to a 10-day course of antibiotics. However, when the antibiotics were discontinued, the clinical symptoms of infection returned. At that point, glyconutrient therapy was initiated at a dose of 1?4 teaspoon (0.44 g), three times daily (total daily dose of 1.32 g). The animal then became asymptomatic within 48 hours, and dietary supplementation was continued indefinitely with no clinical reoccurrence.

I would like to briefly make two final points before I conclude my talk. First, I would like to point out the importance of raw and glyconutritional supplemented diets. As you can see for the graphic illustration, vitamin and mineral levels are substantially diminished when foods are cooked. Moreover, any glyconutrients that might be present, would also be lost by cooking. The reason for these losses is that these nutrients concentrate in the broth during cooking and are usually discarded when the broth is removed. Thus, maximum nutrition can be obtained best feeding raw meats and foods and by supplementing raw diets with gluconutrients. Science has yet to find the Rosetta stone that will enable us to decipher the sugar alphabet, or the “sweet language of life”. However, when the language is deciphered, we may find that Hippocrates, in 400 B.C., was right all along when he said: ‘Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food”.

Secondly, I would like to speak on the issue of vaccinosis, since this has an etiology that haunts the veterinary profession and will for generations to come. I encourage those of you who are not familiar with the work of Francis Pottinger and his cats review his conclusions on the generational maintenance of abnormalities [reduced by deficient diets]. I believe the same conclusions apply to the subtleties of vaccine related syndromes. Day after frustrating day the animal victims of these entities and their desperate owners shuffles dejectedly into veterinary waiting rooms. Check books in hand, the anticipate the injection of ‘depo’ something or other, and wearily pick up their case of D/D, I/D, C/D, U/D, T/D, S/D, and sundry other “D’s”. I believe glyconutrients offer a simple alternative to the plethora of commercially available immune formulations.

Final conclusion of this report:
(1) The understanding of the word ‘glyconutrients’;
(2) What they are;
(3) Their biological functions; and
(4) That you are conversant with their potential utilization in your practice.

Without a healthy, well-monitored and regulated immune system, it is generally accepted that good health is not attainable. The eight glyconutrients that you are now familiar with are the difference between cellular chaos and the systematic organ function totally and irrevocably necessary for survival in a homeostatic milieu. They are to doctor what ammunition is to a sharp shooter. Frankly, I consider them as a silent catalyst and not dramatic purveyors of instant response (although I have certainly seen that occur.) Their intrinsic ability to balance cell communication and immune function definitely increases the efficiency of any well thought out therapeutic plan, be it holistic or allophathic. They are not for the short term, for body often responds frustratingly slowly in matters of nutrition. The old adage ‘slow but sure wins the race” makes the outcome worth the price of the ticket. I consider the addition of glyconutrient dietary supplementation as a most important and multifaceted tool in our armementariam of well-researched methods that supply the body with the resources necessary to overcome disease.

For Scientific Reference Biography, Contact: Dr. Young at docappleseed@aol.com